Forbes Advisor reports one in five small businesses across the U.S. fail in their first year, and half fail in their first five years. A growing program in southern Missouri aims to help entrepreneurs improve their odds with what they call “Early-Stage Business Boot Camps.”
The boot camps are a program from Innovate SOMO, a collaboration between the efactory and the Small Business Development Center in Springfield and codefi in Cape Girardeau, funded by grants from the Economic Development Administration.
Each boot camp consists of eight sessions of focused curriculum taught by volunteer experts in their field, addressing topics like local business resources, conducting a market analysis, establishing an LLC, hiring and managing a team and more. Macee Curtis is regional program coordinator at the efactory. Curtis said that they try to cover everything, from “is owning a business good for you? all the way to tax and record keeping.”
She said that, between now and November, they’ll host 11 bootcamps with several virtual options and in person sessions at sites throughout southern Missouri, from Monett to Poplar Bluff.
Curtis said the boot camps are designed for anyone at any stage of starting or reevaluating their business, including people who have no idea where to begin.
“We also have people who are at the very early stages,” she explained, “maybe they do have a name or they have filled out their LLC; then we also have people who have been in business for 20 years, and they just want to maybe re-market themselves or figure out what is new in building a business today.”
Curtis said, beyond education, these sessions also offer the opportunity to build a network and get advice tailored to your specific situation. Grant funding allows these Early-Stage Business Boot Camps to be free for participants.
The next virtual cohort begins July 25. You can find all session information and register for a boot camp at efactory.missouristate.edu/bootcamp
Curtis also said that whether or not you can attend a boot camp, anyone with a business or starting a business is always welcome to contact the efactory for a free consultation.
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